International Law

This course introduces students to the key concepts and doctrines of international law. Students learn the sources of international law such as custom and treaty, the role of international organizations such as the United Nations, the bases of international jurisdiction, laws governing the use of force and the protection of human rights, and the constitutional structure of U.S. participation in the international legal system. An understanding of these core concepts, rules and institutions is vital to more advanced and in-depth study of world events, such as the Persian Gulf crisis and war in 1990–91 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991–92, and places these events in the context of the development and application of international law. The course also examines the development of regional organizations such as the European Union and North American Free Trade Agreement and the role the institutions of these arrangements play both in international and municipal legal systems.